Optical modules are constructed and assembled in modular fashion from a plurality of components. An optical module of this type, as is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,479, has an optics module, a housing component, and a connector component. These components are assembled to form an optical module. The optics module has a receptacle opening with an inserted housed light transmission element with an additionally attached transmission focusing device and a further receptacle opening with a housed light reception element with an additionally attached reception focusing device. The housing component has two optical paths, a transmission path and a reception path with bent optical fiber pieces of a fiber-optic waveguide, which can be inserted into the connector component and can be coupled to two fiber strands of a waveguide with the aid of the connector component.
One disadvantage of such an optical module assembled from the above components is the space requirement, which limits miniaturization. A further disadvantage is the diversity of the components whose tolerances may not fulfill the optical coupling requirements, making optical adaptation and orientation difficult and complicated and representing a permanent source of faults.